Top Greek court grants Turkish soldier asylum

A TURKISH soldier who fled with seven others to Greece after a failed coup attempt against President Tayyip Erdoğan in 2016 should be granted asylum, a Greek court ruled on Wednesday, prompting an angry response from Ankara.

The Council of State, Greece’s top administrative court, rejected an appeal by the leftist-led government against an administrative decision by an asylum board to grant asylum to the Turkish soldier, a judicial source said.

Turkish EU Minister Ömer Çelik called the Council of State ruling “the most embarrassing decision a country can make”.